The Unnamed Blade (Book Two of The Horns of Elfland)

Chapter Three

Jevann whistled quietly to himself, knotting off the last of the waxed threads in Agouti's breast collar.

"That should hold, now," he commented to no-one in particular.

Agouti snorted, pulling grass from behind Jevann, nudging him over to pick at a bit of yarrow. Jevann rubbed the beast's nose gently and offered him a handful of honeycake crumbs from within his pocket.

"If you do that too often, he's going to learn to tear pockets to find out what's inside," said Farinka, crouching down beside him.

Jevann laughed. "Yes, he's bright enough. I've had to punch fresh holes in quite a few of these straps – he and Flax are getting bigger all round."

"They're putting on a lot of muscle," said Farinka.

"That's what you get for working hard and eating well," answered Jevann. "There's a lot of good quality late grazing around – more than usual, for the time of year. It's turning out to be a very mild autumn."

"Which I don't know whether to be glad of, or not," said Louka, joining them with mugs of steaming danchic and sitting cross-legged beside them. "Is that harness all safe now?"

"Yes. There were a couple of other weak spots." Jevann relieved her of a mug, and sat cradling it in his hands.

"Why might you not be glad of mild weather?" asked Farinka. "It seems a blessing, all things considered."

"Now, yes," agreed Louka. "But autumns this mild have a habit of snapping back very hard around midwinter. We get one like this about three times in every hundred years, and we're about due for another one."

Jevann's eyes went unfocussed for a while, and he shivered.

– What? asked Louka.

– Just remembering the last one. I have a feeling that this one's going to be colder, for longer.

– Precog, or just hunch? Louka searched Jevann's eyes. He smiled.

– What's the difference? It's just a matter of degree. He pushed an unruly section of his chestnut mane back from his eyes.

"You ought to cut that," suggested Farinka.

"I'd rather let it grow, in the winter. It's warmer."

"It wouldn't hurt to cut the front back a bit," said Louka, running her fingers through it. "Look at it, it's half way down your nose!"

Jevann laughed. "Okay, do your worst." He sharpened the edges of the leather shears and handed them to her.

"Your hair's getting fuzzy," remarked Louka as she started cutting. "I'd rub some nut oil into it if I were you."

"Have we got any?"

"Loads. There are nuts everywhere, this year. Jekavi's making packs for those new beasts to carry nuts in. They're much the same colour as your hair," she added, looking at the hair in her hand before letting the breeze take it away. "A bit brighter, maybe."

"Have we thought of names for them yet?" asked Jevann.

"Not yet," said Farinka. "The world's full of things nearly the same colour as Jevann's hair at the moment," she added with a smile.

Jevann opened one green eye and looked at her.

"Keep your eyes shut, or you'll get bits of hair in them," said Louka.

"Why not call them Beechnut and Bracken?" suggested Jevann. "Beechnut could be the darker one."

"He'd end up being called Nut," said Farinka with a smile.